DSHS invites residents to Community Conversations on Health

Community Conversations on Health began in Limestone County after being identified as one of 24 Texas counties with health disparities, said Dr. Stephen Pont, medical director for Center for Public Health Policy and Practice.

The Texas Department of State Health Services formed the initiative as part of a multi-million dollar grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Pont said.

The mission is to build community engagement and sustainable relationships, according to a DSHS information handout.

“The overall goal of the grant was to identify parts of Texas that were disproportionately affected by COVID-19 and then talk to those communities … to see where we could be helpful,” Pont said. “Then also thinking about chronic health conditions and the health disparities that existed before COVID and what might be opportunities for us to work with communities,” he said.

Community engagement looks like establishing rapport and developing relationships, spending time in the community and building trust, listening and identifying community needs and staying engaged when funding dissipates.

Sustainable relationships are built by engaging community partners, like hospitals, communitybased organizations, faith-based organizations, social service agencies, and businesses and building cross-sector partnerships like healthcare and social services, said Aelia Ahktar, Office of Public Health policy director.

DSHS was hiring and building internal staff this past year, Ahktar said.

“Now they are meeting with people in those counties, specifically in Limestone County, starting the initial meetings,” Ahktar said. “We’re in that halfway part where we’re starting that community engagement and getting deeper into those communities.”

The initiative aims to improve access to vaccines and testing and increase training and education for the public health workforce through the partnership with some local health departments, she said.

“Then really start to lay the foundation to strengthen the communities capacity to face future public health emergencies,” Ahktar said. “These are the high-level goals we hope to have some plans to address.”

DSHS works with statelevel partners, like the State Office of Rural Health, the Area Health Education Centers, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, local health departments and the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service, on this initiative.

“We wanted to partner with folks who are already working in those counties,” Pont said.

Through the grant, AgriLife Extension hired a regional extension program specialist in each of the eight public health regions. Myriam Virella is the Extension Program specialist for Region 7. People can email her at myriam.virella@ag.tamu.edu.

The DSHS has hired a regional community engagement specialist and a regional evaluation and performance specialist for each region.

These specialists identify community partners, needs and priorities and build relationships through focus groups and listening sessions.

The initiative’s focus is on health topics, but the range is wide, Pont said. People, organizations and entities will be connected with appropriate resources as needs are identified.

“There are many moving pieces and folks who want to help improve the health of Texans. We’re trying to be that convener, to connect the dots so that we can see some real movement and improvement happen,” Pont said.

People interested in participating in the project contact Sherril Rawlinson, regional evaluation and performance specialist for Public Health Region 7, at sherril. rawlinson@ dshs. texas.gov; Robin Wisdom, regional community engagement specialist VII, at Robin.Wisdom@dshs.texas. gov or email the DSHS at healthdisparities@dshs.texas. gov.

Rawlinson and Virella will present information about the initiative at the Groesbeck Chamber of Commerce Lunch and Learn meeting at noon March 9 at the Groesbeck Convention Center.

“We’re trying to see who all are those partners who are out there, learn from one another and then when we all come together,” Pont said. “We can get far more done than just working independently.”